Carnival Triumph adrift off Mexico coast after engine room fire

It was a horrible day for the cruise industry. In addition to the engine room fire on the Carnival Triumph, a Thomson Cruises ship saw five crew members killed during a safety drill.

— Dennis Schaal

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An engine room fire has left a cruise ship adrift off the coast of Mexico with more than 3,000 passengers on board.

Carnival Triumph was without propulsion and operating on emergency generator power following the fire, which was discovered on Sunday morning.

None of the ship’s 3,143 guests, or 1,086 crew, were injured, said Carnival, a Florida-based firm, in a statement.

“Another Carnival ship, the Carnival Elation, is currently on scene and transferring additional food and beverage provisions to the Carnival Triumph,” it said.

It added that a tugboat was also on its way to drag the vessel from its current location, around 150 miles off the Yucatan peninsula, to the Mexican port of Progreso, where it is expected to arrive on Wednesday.

The ship set sail from Galveston, Texas, on Thursday, and had been due to return today.

Carnival said all holidaymakers would be provided with flights from Progreso to Galveston, and would receive a full refund or a berth on an alternative cruise. It added that the ship’s next two sailings would be cancelled. Affected passengers would also receive a refund.

The incident occurred on the same day that five crew members were killed on board the cruise ship Thomson Majesty during a routine lifeboat safety drill. Eight people had been taking part in the drill while the ship was docked, when the lifeboat they were in fell 30 metres into the sea.

Jane Archer, the Telegraph’s cruise correspondent, described the tragedy as a blow to an industry “still reeling” from last year’s Costa Concordia disaster.